Corrections

Other Sanctions…continued

• Shaming/public humiliation:
• Car bumper stickers
• Newspaper articles
• Sign on front door
• Corporal punishment:
• Chemical/physical castration
• Whippings (past)
• Dismembered
• Capital punishment

Scope of the Corrections Industry

At present, roughly 5.5 million adults are either in prison, jail, on probation, or on parole. That translates to one adult in 47, or roughly 2.1% of the American adult population, being under some form of correctional supervision.

Does Anything Work?

• Rehabilitating and reintegrating
• Reduce crime via incapacitation:
• Short term
• Long term
• Reduce crime via general deterrence
• Reduce crime via specific deterrence
• Fiscally responsible

Future of Incarceration

• Build more prisons/continue mass incarceration
• Tear down the large, monolithic prisons
• Build no more prisons:
• Divert to community based alternatives
• Selective incapacitation
• Shorter sentences
• Less intrusive classification

Future of Incarceration…continued

• Build humane facilities:
• Smaller prisons
• Inmate/guard interaction
• Divert to community based alternatives
• Selective incapacitation
• Shorter sentences
• Less intrusive classification

Punishment Perspectives

• Do we send people to prison as punishment or to receive punishment?
• What is just punishment – a punishment that fits the crime or the criminal?
• What punishment options will have a good effect upon individuals in the long run?
• What punishment options will likely be de-habilitating in the long run?

Why do we Punish?

• To resolve conflict
• To maintain values/social borders
• To get people to stop doing things
• To make ourselves feel better
• To hold people accountable
• To protect society
• To rehabilitate/treat the offender